A Reason to Live
by armorandmeteor
Summary: Crime Sorciere decide to leave Crocus when the last day of the Grand Magic Games end. Erza and Jellal say their goodbyes and try to deal with the fact that they probably won't be able to see each other any more. However, outside circumstances involving two vengeful mermaids will bring them together soon after that. Jellal x Erza
1. Farewell

**Disclaimer: If I owned Fairy Tail, I wouldn't be writing this fanfic now would I?**

* * *

**Farewell **

It was the final day of the Grand Magic Games which have ended with Fairy Tail's victory. It had been a violent battle, but Fairy Tail managed to win because of the strength of their bonds and the pride of being a Fairy Tail mage. The Fairies were overjoyed by their victory, but they were also exhausted because of today's difficult battle. They were staying in Crocus for one more day to attend a party being held to celebrate the end of the Grand Magic Games tomorrow. Since they were the victors of the Games, it was only logical for them to show up. But Fairy Tail was a lively guild and they would go to the party either way.

"WE WON" Natsu screamed with fire coming out of his mouth. He was running back and fourth in the Fairy Tail A Team's inn. Meanwhile Lucy, Wendy and Gray were resting on their beds, trying to relax. Even though the two Fairy Tail teams had formed into one, they decided to keep living in the same apartments till the end of the games so that they wouldn't complicate things when it was almost over anyway.

"Where does he get his energy from?" Lucy wondered. Sure; Lucy, Natsu and Wendy didn't even participate in the final event, but they were still exhausted from breaking the Stellar Mage out of jail.

"Well, that's Natsu-san for you." Wendy said and smiled shyly.

"FAIRY TAIL IS THE NUMBER 1 GUILD IN FIORE!" Natsu kept shouting.

A vein popped out on Gray's forehead. "Oi! Bastard! Keep it down! Some of us are trying to rest here!" Gray got up and screamed at him, not being able to take his noisiness any longer.

Natsu stopped running and pointed a finger at Gray. "Huh? You pickin' a fight, droppy-eyes?"

"What was that? Pointy-eyes?"

And with that, the two started one of their usual fights, breaking furniture that didn't belong to them while they were at it.

"Seriously…" Carla complained.

"Now they're both causing trouble." Lucy sighed. "I wish Erza was here to stop them."

"Where is Erza-san anyway?" Wendy asked.

"She's probably with-" Happy chuckled before he could finish his sentence.

* * *

As Happy had assumed, Erza was going to meet up with Jellal. She was wearing her usual armor, blue skirt and black shoes. They were meeting up under a bridge in place where they usually talked while here at Crocus. When Erza had arrived, she saw that he was already there, still disguised as Mystogan.

"Congratulations on winning the Games." Jellal said as he pulled down his mask and offered her a slight smile.

"You participated too." Erza said and smiled back.

"Yeah, but I wasn't much help." He said and sweat-dropped.

Erza chuckled, remembering his fight with Jura. "Well, you did your best."

She started walking closer towards him, but tripped on her own feet in the process and fell. Luckily, Jellal caught her by the shoulders before she hit the ground.

"Erza, are you okay?" He asked in a worried tone, lifting her up.

"Yeah, I'm just tired." She said as she got back on her feet.

"Let's go sit somewhere." He said, pulling up his mask.

"Sure."

They made their way towards a nearby bench, placed under a tree in the corner of one of Crocus's parks. It was nightfall so there were hardly any people there which made it a perfect place for them to talk without being overheard.

He listened as Erza explained to him Mavis's tactic for the final day and how it went. Later he shared with her some of his adventures with Crime Sorciere, how they broke him out of jail, how the guild was formed, and how they took out some of the most powerful dark guilds. She found that he did so many things during the seven years she was gone, and gladly listened to his stories. They talked like that for about an hour, until Erza felt it was hard for her to keep her eyelids open any longer.

"I'm exhausted." Erza said suddenly, stopping him mid-sentence. She stretched out her arms in a tired fashion and yawned.

All she wanted to do now is exquip into her pajamas and let herself fall on her bed. Slowly closing her eyes, she unconsciously leaned on his shoulder and appeared to have fallen asleep.

"Erza?" Jellal said and shook her lightly, but she gave no response._ She looks so peaceful. _He thought, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks. He put an arm around her and pulled her closer to him. A slight breeze blew beside them, causing their hair to dance lightly in the wind. He looked left and right and, after noticing no one's around them, pulled down his mask and kissed her hair, inhaling its sweet sent.

"Sleep well, Erza." He whispered to her and smiled, pulling his mask back up. He got up, carrying a sleeping Erza in his arms and made his way towards the A Team's inn. Even though he wasn't at their house yet, he could still hear shouting from it.

"KARYUU NO TEKKEN." He heard Natsu scream out as their door burst open with Gray flying backwards. Jellal moved to the side and the black haired Mage fell on the ground where the blue haired Mage was previously standing. He grunted, lifting himself off the ground.

Gray's eyes widened, noticing Jellal beside him with an unconscious Erza in his arms.

"Oi, what's wrong with Erza?" He asked in a worried tone.

"She's just tired." He said as their attention shifted to Natsu who was now running towards Gray, grinning.

"You'll pay for that, flame brain!" The Ice Make Mage shouted as he extended his arms, preparing to attack.

"Bring it on, pants-boy!" The Fire Mage motioned to him to make his move.

"Ice Make: Lance!" He shouted as he shot multiple ice lances at the Dragon Slayer. Lucy appeared at the door with Wendy, Carla and Happy behind her.

"Guys, stop it!" The blonde shouted but the two paid no attention to her, Gray kept firing ice lances as Natsu dodged them.

_Just another typical day for Fairy Tail. _Jellal thought. Even though he was with the fairies for only a few days, he already got used to their craziness. He made his way towards their door, trying not to get in the middle of Natsu and Gray's fight as he did so.

"Oh, hi Je- I mean Mystogan." Lucy said, noticing the Heavenly Body Mage approaching. It was dangerous to call h m by his name here, considering the small crowd the fight attracted. She noticed the unconscious requip mage in his arms and looked at him questionably.

"She fell asleep." Jellal explained.

"Well you weren't doing a very good job if she fell asleep so soon." Happy said and chuckled as Carla face-palmed at his lame joke.

Lucy stepped aside to make room for Jellal to enter the house as she motioned towards Erza's bed and he got in, paying no attention to the Exceed's absurd statement. He made his way towards Erza's bed and placed her on it, careful not to wake her up.

"Farewell, Erza." He whispered to her, gently removing a strand of hair from her face. Suddenly, her eyes twitched and she slowly started to open them.

"F-Farewell? What are you talking about, Jellal?" Erza asked sleepishly.

Jellal was surprised to see Erza still awake.

"Sleep." He said as he extended his arm and cast a sleep spell on Erza, instantly causing her to lose consciousness.

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**I apologize if my English is too sloppy, it's not my native language. Also, this is my first fic so any kind of constructive criticism/advice is very much appreciated. :3**


	2. Now or Never

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Also thanks for the favs and alerts!  
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**ahsinam33 - Thank you so much! I actually have one of your fics in my favorites, so that means a lot coming from you! ^.^  
**

**ripace - Thank you! I hope you'll like this chapter and the future ones as well. c:  
**

* * *

**Now or Never**

Erza's eye twitched as daylight made its way in between her eyelids. Her eyes slowly opened as she regained her consciousness. She lifted herself up in a sitting position and rubbed her eyes. "_Huh? Why did I fall asleep in my armor?" _She wondered. Her armor wasn't the most comfortable thing to sleep in.

Her eyes widened in realization as she remembered what happened. _"Farewell, Erza." _She remembered Jellal say, and put her to sleep with his magic. "_Farewell? Where is he going? Is he still here… or did he already leave?" _

Slightly lifting her head up to see what time it was on her wall clock, she discovered it was only 5am. "_Maybe he's still here."_

She rushed out of the house, careful not to wake any of her comrades up, and made her way towards the B Team's apartment.

"JELLAL!" She shouted as she burst open the door. Looking around the room, she saw that everyone in the B Team was sleeping soundly… well, almost everyone. There was one bed that was empty.

"Erza?" Mirajane asked, getting up in a sitting position. "What are you doing up so early?" She asked sleepishly as she rubbed her eyes.

"Do you know where Jellal is?" The redhead asked, lowering her tone to avoid waking anyone else up.

The white-haired mage looked towards Jellal's empty bed and shook her head. "He was here before I fell asleep. I didn't even notice when he left."

Erza rushed out of the house, not bothering to close the door behind her.

"Erza, wait! What's wrong?" Mirajane quickly got up and ran after her.

The Requip Mage stopped to look at her. "I think they're leaving now…" She said and continued running.

"Erza, wait!" She heard the Take Over Mage shout, but she didn't stop.

She ran through the city, having no particular destination in mind. She had no idea where to look, she had no idea where to find him, so she just ran aimlessly.

"MYSTOGAN!" She called for him. It was too dangerous to use his real name since the council was here.

"**MYSTOGAN**!" She cried out, her voice cracking as tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.

She didn't want him to leave, not when she finally got him back. After all those years of Jellal being in the tower of heaven, in jail, and Erza being frozen in the fairy sphere; they were finally together. If he leaves now, who knows when she'll see him again? "_He could've at least stayed for a proper goodbye, damn it!"_

* * *

"Millianna, wake up!" She heard Kagura yell out to her as she burst into her room.

"K-Kagura-chan? What's wrong?" Millianna asked, rubbing her eyes.

"This is maybe our last chance to get our hands on Jellal! Quickly, get dressed!" She ordered her.

Millianna winced upon hearing Jellal's name and nodded. She changed from her pajamas to her regular clothes consisting of tight small shorts, long striped leggings, her bikini top and a hooded cape. Shortly after, the two girls sped out of Mermaid Heel's apartment.

"Kagura-chan, what are you talking about, our last chance? Won't he be at the party tomorrow?" Millianna asked as they ran.

"I heard your friend looking for 'Mystogan', so he probably already left." Kagura said and let out an angry grunt.

"Damn it! I couldn't attack him during the Games because it would get the council's attention. They would probably arrest him or kill him themselves…" She raised her tone. "The one who will kill Jellal is none other then me." She said determinately.

"What do we do, then?" Millianna asked in a worried tone.

"The only thing we can do now is follow Erza and hope that she can find him for us." She said and stopped behind a wall, catching a glimpse of Titania in the crowd.

Millianna did the same and felt weird for following Erza like that, but they had no choice. Erza was probably in danger too, she was all alone looking for Jellal…

"_Erza has no idea that Jellal is actually in her guild."_ Millianna had thought when she saw Jellal being unmasked by the council that day. She thought that he had infiltrated Fairy Tail by pretending to be a member to get close to Erza and use her for his plans again. Ever since then she wanted to tell Erza about it, but Kagura forbid her from doing so.

"We should just tell Er-chan about Jellal and look for him together!" She insisted.

"No." Kagura replied firmly. "What if she already knows?"

"She doesn't!" Millianna replied undoubtedly. "She would never let Jellal join her guild!"

"I can't risk it." She said, ending the argument.

* * *

Erza quickly wiped away her tears when she heard someone running towards her.

"Oi, Titania!" She turned around, hearing a familiar voice call out to her.

"Oh, it's you, Gajeel. What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Mirajane woke me up telling me to help you look for that bastard." Gajeel said, clearly sounding pissed for being woken up so early.

The S-Class Mage nodded, remembering that dragon slayers have a good sense of smell. "Please."

"You better be grateful for this." He said and ran forward. "Follow me!"

* * *

The Crime Sorciere members were on a hill from where Ultear and Meredy watched The Grand Magic Games. They decided to meet up there before they leave, since it was a safe spot where the Magic Council wouldn't find them. Jellal was still wearing Mystogan's clothes, just in case.

"Are you sure you don't want to say goodbye?" Ultear asked him.

"We can go back if you changed your mind." Meredy said.

He shook his head. "It would only make things harder for us."

They prepared to leave, only to hear footsteps behind them.

"Wait! Jellal!" Erza yelled, running towards him with Gajeel right behind her.

"Erza…" He turned around to face her.

It suddenly became very silent as both of them gazed in each others eyes without saying a word. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of the wind blowing beside them.

"You don't need me anymore right? I'm goin' back to sleep!" Gajeel said, sensing the tension between the two.

"We'll take our leave now, Jellal. You catch up to us, okay?" Ultear said and left.

"You can take as much time as you want." Meredy said teasingly before following Ultear.

And then they were alone… or so they thought. The two mermaids were behind an abandoned house there, watching them. They could only see them and couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was too risky to try to get closer.

"This is bad, Er-chan's alone with Jellal." Millianna whispered to Kagura. "We should attack him now."

"Not yet. We'll follow him when he leaves, and we'll attack him when we're out of Crocus." Millianna opened her mouth to protest, but then Kagura added "If he attacks Erza, we'll do it now."

She nodded in agreement. "Got it."

Erza was glad that she had found him before he left, but now she didn't know what to say. All she thought about before was if she was going to find him, and not what she would say to him if she did. They just glared at each other awkwardly, both hoping that the other would break the silence. "_Maybe looking for him was a mistake. Maybe I should've just let him leave." _She thought.

"Erza... I'm sorry I tried to leave without an explanation, but you already know I need to leave as soon as I can, don't you?" Jellal finally broke the silence and started walking towards her.

"I-I know." She lowered her head. "But I don't want you to leave, I just got you back." A single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Erza..." He embraced her tightly, putting one hand around her and burying one in her hair. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come when you were training on the beach that day, I shouldn't have joined the B Team, I should've just stayed away." He paused for a moment when Erza put her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder while sobbing silently. "All I do is cause you pain, I'm sorry."

"That's not true." She said while wiping away her tears. "It's true that you've hurt me a lot in the past, but I'm happy when I'm around you now."

She looked at him in his dark eyes. He was still wearing his mask, so she couldn't see the expression on his face, but she could see the feeling of regret in his eyes. "I forgive you, Jellal. I can see how hard you're trying to atone for your sins, but please, don't make pushing me away a part of your redemption."

"_It's now or never." _She thought as she put her hands on his face and lowered his mask."I love you, Jellal."

Now that she could fully see his face, she was able to see a wave of emotions flow through his face. She could see surprise, she could see sadness, but at the same time, she could see that deep down, her confession made him happy.

And it did. He was happy that he had someone like Erza by his side, happy that she forgave him and loved him. More then that though, he felt saddened by the fact that he could never make up for how much he has hurt her, and never find a way to thank her enough for everything that she had done for him. "I don't deserve you, Erza..."

Her lips parted as she started leaning towards him. She saw him do the same and closed her eyes, as did he. Little by little, they were slowly closing the distance between each other. They were getting so close they could feel each others breaths. It was just like that time before the Grand Magic Games, only this time, he didn't push her away. Their lips collided as he pulled her tighter into his embrace. She put her one hand around his neck and ran her fingers through his spiky blue hair with the other, causing his bandana to fall off.

"Erza... how could you?" Millianna whispered as she watched the sight of Erza kissing a completely unmasked Jellal. _So she knows after all... _She thought, completely disappointed in her old friend.

Kagura didn't seem really surprised, but she still couldn't help but feel disappointed since she thought of Titania as a rival of some sort. And here she was, kissing a murderer.

Erza pulled away from him. "I-I'm sorry." She said and looked away, embarrassed by what she had just done. "I shouldn't have done that."

"You don't have to apologize." He bent down to pick up his bandana. "It's my fault as much as yours."

"No... I... My emotions got the better of me... I don't know... what I was thinking..."

_"Why is she making such a big deal out of this?"_ He wondered as he put his bandana on, and then he remembered...

"Erza..." He put his hand on her chin and moved her head to look her in the eyes. "I don't really have a fiancée..."

Erza snorted.

"I'm aware." She said, seeing his confused look. "You're a really bad liar." She teased him, brightening the mood a bit.

He took a note to work on his lying skills. "Then why are you apologizing?"

She frowned, bringing back the tension between them. "You told me that you have a fiancée because you wanted to keep your distance. If that's your choice, then the last thing I want to do is force you to be with me."

"It's not that I don't _want_ to be with you, Erza." He blushed slightly. "If us being together was possible, then nothing would make me happier." He smiled at the thought.

"But it just feels... wrong." He said as he replaced his smile with a frown.

"If you feel that way, then I'll just wait until you feel like its right." Erza looked at him and offered him a small smile.

"I don't think it can ever be right, Erza." He didn't want to say it, but it was true. The last thing he wanted to do is hurt her again, but that was just the way things were, and he didn't think anything could change it.

Even though she saw them coming, it still hurt to hear those words. As much as she was glad that he was acknowledging his past and trying to redeem himself, she couldn't help but feel saddened by his choice.

"And even if it did... I'm still a fugitive, and you're a mage of a legal guild."

If they would continue to see each other, it could never be in public, they would always have to hide, and it could only be for a little while, once in a couple of months. And if they got caught together, that could cause problems for her, and that could cause problems for Fairy Tail. He didn't want that for Erza, he didn't want her to have anything to do with a fugitive like himself.

He didn't have to tell her that though, she already knew. She was just avoiding the problem, hoping it would disappear. For a little while, she did manage to forget about all the complications surrounding her and Jellal, but now he brought her back to the painful reality.

"I-I know." She said, burying her face in the palms of her hands.

"This is why I wanted to leave without letting you know. I didn't want to make things any harder then they have to be."

He cursed himself for not leaving sooner. They couldn't travel at night because Crocus is surrounded by woods and they wouldn't be able to see where they were going, so they decided to leave when the sun rises.

He wasn't sure about what he was about to say next, but he thought, this may be the last time they see each other, so he decided to tell her everything he wanted her to know. He took her hands in his, revealing her teary-eyed face. "Erza... I need to thank you... For always being there for me... for forgiving me... for loving me... for giving me a reason to live just when I was about to give up..."

_"It's now or never." _He thought. "Thank you, Erza. I love you too." He tightened his grip on her hands. "But I need to leave. I'm sorry."

She nodded. "Don't keep Ultear and Meredy waiting."

He let go of her hands and pulled up his mask. "Farewell, Erza." He said once again, and with that, he was gone.

* * *

**I hope you guys liked the little Jerza moment in this chapter, because there probably won't be any Jerza in the next 2 chapters or so. Review please, and feel free to tell me if you think the characters are acting OOC or something. **


	3. Confrontation

**As always thank you so much for the reviews, favs and alerts. **

**I have to apologize for the late update. At first I wanted to make up my own reasons for Kagura to want revenge, but since I saw that it might be revealed soon I decided to wait and find out what they are. I also wanted to find out what exactly Archenemy does and planned to use it in this chapter, but since that may not be revealed soon I decided not to (maybe I'll use it in one of the later chapters?). Since everyone from Mermaid Heel was so shocked from Kagura using Archenemy, I'm sure it has some after-effect or something.  
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**Since Kagura and Erza are (kind of) friends now, looks like I'll need to change some facts from the manga to make everything work. For now, let's just say they hadn't fought during the GMG. Also, as I stated in the first chapter, Fairy Tail won the tournament. In canon, because of the "impossible outcome", I think Quatro Puppy will win, while here they were last.  
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**ahsinam33 - I changed it, thanks for pointing that out. If you notice any other spelling or grammatical error, feel free to let me know. c: I know but I wrote that before the new chapter came out and I didn't want to change anything, so I just kept it like that.  
**

**AddictedToFT - As you can probably see, I'm a _bit_ obsessed with this couple, so you can expect more Jerza fanfics in the future. I don't really have time right now because of school, but when I finish this one I will probably start another one. I already have a few ideas for a new fic in mind. ^.^**

* * *

**Confrontation**

Kagura and Millianna watched as Jellal and Erza parted ways. Jellal headed into the woods outside of Crocus while Erza headed back into the city. The mermaids waited for both of them to be a safe distance away from each other before heading off to pursue him. They were now hiding behind a tree, observing Jellal run through the forest until they almost couldn't see him anymore.

"I'll go on ahead, you wait a bit and then follow me." Kagura said.

"Why?" Millianna gave her a confused look.

"It's more likely that he will notice us if we go together at the same time." She explained.

Millianna nodded as Kagura set off. She struggled to keep him within eyes reach and at the same time trying to make sure she was far away enough from him for him not to notice her.

Besides that, there was also the problem that he seemed to be traveling with two other mages. Since they were with Jellal they were, no doubt, powerful. Kagura didn't want to involve other mages in this, so she concluded that attacking him before he met up with them would be best.

But there was also the problem that, if two powerful mages such as Jellal and herself would face off, they would attract a lot of attention. The last thing she wanted was to get the council involved with this, so she also had to wait for him to be deep enough in the woods for nobody in Crocus to notice their fight.

"_I can't screw this up." _The swordswoman thought, her heart beating anxiously as she was jumping from one branch to another, tracking Jellal who was running on the ground.

* * *

Meanwhile, Erza was walking through one of the streets in Crocus. She didn't feel like going back to sleep, so she decided to take a walk to clear her head. It was still really early in the morning, so the city seemed quite empty. She walked around like that for a couple of minutes, lost in her thoughts, until she smelled the scent of alcohol behind her. The scarlet haired warrior turned around, only to see a certain Quatro Cerberus mage walk towards her.

"Bacchus?" Erza said, sounding surprised. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Early? What are you talking about? It's the middle of the night!" He slurred as he spread his arms out and looked up towards the sunny sky, an idiotic, drunken smile on his face.

Erza sweat dropped at his statement. "Okay then… what are you doing up so late?" She asked him, knowing better then to argue with the drunken idiot.

"I've been out drinking with the guys, celebrating Quatro Cerberus' victory at the Grand Magic Games." He said and smirked.

"Bacchus, Fairy Tail won, Quatro Cerberus came in last…" Erza corrected him.

"Details, details…" He said, waving her off.

"So where are your guys anyway?" The Fairy Tail mage asked him, looking left and right to try and spot other members of his guild.

"They're probably lying unconsciously in the alleys somewhere wasted, couldn't take so much alcohol." He said and let out annoyed 'pft'. "I'd drink more but, it's no fun drinking alone, so I'm going home to sleep."

Erza thought about it for a while. _"Why not? I could use some company."_

"Wait." She said when she saw the drunk falcon about to leave. "I'll drink with you."

* * *

Little by little, Kagura was slowly getting closer to Jellal, getting ready to attack him at any time. As she jumped from a branch, she turned around for a moment to see if Millianna was behind her and couldn't see any sign of the girl.

"_Was I going too fast?" _She wondered as she landed on another branch which cracked from her weight.

She quickly jumped on another branch as that one broke off and fell on the ground with a loud thud.

Jellal turned around towards the noise. _"Someone's following me?" _

"_Shit! He heard me!" _Kagura thought.

"Who goes there?" He called out to his pursuer. _"Is it someone from the Council? If so, I can't lead them to Ultear and Meredy."_

At the sound of his voice, she quickly became enraged and jumped off the branch right above him, gripping her sword in her hands. She lashed it out at him as he dodged her at the last second, causing her to make a huge hole in the ground from her attack.

"You're Kagura from Mermaid Heel." He said, remembering her fight with Yukino. "What do you want with me?"

The Mermaid Heel's mage took no time in answering him, she just lashed out at him again in rage.

He stretched his arm out towards her and straightened his palm, shooting a ball of magic towards her. She quickly dodged and continued forward.

"_Fast." _He thought as she swung her sword out at him.

"Meteor." He said as his body became covered with magic. The Crime Sorciere mage barely managed to dodge her attack and flew towards the sky. The girl seemed to be very skilled at melee combat, so he decided to put some distance between them and landed on a branch. He straightened his hands and released several beams from his palms towards her.

Kagura had no problem dodging one of them, but was surprised to find out that they were tracking her. She waited for the arrows to be close and dodged them at the last second causing them to hit the ground, and she proceeded to do that until the last one disappeared. While she was concentrating on that though, she didn't notice when Jellal made seven seals in the sky.

"Be judged by the seven starts, Grand Chariot!" The fugitive said as the seals released powerful light blasts downwards in her direction. The attack hit the ground, the strong impact causing dust to rise up in the air, completely covering his attacker and her surroundings.

"_Does she work for the council?" _The Heavenly Body mage wondered while the dust slowly begun to fade.

Suddenly he saw an even more angered Kagura burst out of the dust, flying towards him.

"JELLAL!" She roared at him.

His eyes widened as he noticed that the girl was barely injured after being hit with such a powerful magic as the Grand Chariot. She was way too fast which forced him to use Meteor once again to get away from her attack. He flew downwards and hid behind a tree to try and analyze the situation.

"_So she knows who I am." _He noted, subtly observing her. _"Did the council figure out I'm not actually Mystogan and sent her after me?" _

"JELLAL, WHERE ARE YOU? COME OUT AND FACE ME YOU COWARD!" Kagura yelled out.

"_No, this is personal." _Jellal concluded, examining her angered tone and expression.

He took off his mask, not finding it necessary anymore, and came out in the clearing.

As soon as she saw him, she lashed out again and swung her sword. She hit him this time, making a large, horizontal wound across his chest. The force from the blow made him fly backwards until he hit a tree, making a hole in it from the impact. He grunted, clutching his chest as blood started gushing out of his wound.

Kagura was surprised that it was so easy to hit him this time. He was incredibly fast before, but now he just stood there, without seeming like he made any attempt in dodging the attack. That made her anger rise up once again.

"What are you doing? Why didn't you dodge my attack? Are you mocking me?!" She screamed out. Was he not feeling threatened by her at all? She knew he could've dodged her attack if he wanted to. Was he just playing with her?

"_Underestimating me will cost you your life, you haven't even seen the half of my power yet." _She thought as she put her hand on the hilt of her sword, preparing to unsheathe it.

"I don't want to fight." He said, barely being able to stand on his feet from the injury he received.

"Good, then it will be easier for me to kill you." She said, glaring angrily at him.

"Why is it that you want to kill me? Were you in the tower?" Jellal asked. He enslaved people in that tower for seven years, it would be logical if she wanted to kill him because of that. But he didn't recall ever seeing her in the tower, or anywhere before the Games for that matter. There were plenty of people there though, so not managing to remember someone wouldn't be much of a shock.

"I guess, since you're about to die, you should know why." She said, slowly unsheathing Archenemy with her thumb. "No, I wasn't in the tower… but my brother was."

"Your… brother?"

"Yes, my older brother, Simon, who you killed." She said, and begun to shake from rage.

His eyes widened at her statement. _"Simon's sister?" _He thought, taking in the information. Of course, he remembered Simon would always talk about her.

After he got his memories back six years ago, he always wondered if she knew of her brother's death. He wondered if he would ever come face to face with her, and confess his sin to her.

There was no need for that now, as she somehow seemed to be already aware of everything.

"I-I see." He didn't doubt that someday someone would want to avenge Simon. Was it Erza, one of their old friends at the tower, or the man's sister, it didn't matter. He decided a long time ago, that when that time comes, he would lay down his life. "Then, you may…"

For seven years he tried desperately to redeem himself for what he had done by destroying dark guilds, but he found that no matter what he did, he never felt like it was enough. He thought death was the only answer for him, and dying by the hands of someone who was close with the man he killed seemed like an appropriate way to end his life. He just wished he could've said goodbye to Ultear, Meredy, Erza…

_Erza._

"_Live and struggle!" _Erza's voice echoed in his mind, making him question his decision.

"_Living is a sign of strength!" _Her words continued to haunt him, lowering his resolve little by little.

"_Then you have to live for her sake, too." _

"_I love you, Jellal."_ And with that, it completely crumbled.

"_You've got to stay by her side! For Erza's sake!"_ He remembered Natsu tell him before the Magic Council took him to jail. He couldn't do that then and couldn't do it now. The least he could do for Erza was stay alive.

That's right. Redemption wasn't the only reason for him to live anymore.

He got on his hands and knees, and bowed his head down to her. "Please… spare my life!"

"What was that!?" She yelled at him, still shaking from rage. "How dare you… how dare you ask that of me!?"

"I know it may be too much to ask, but I promise I'll spend my whole life atoning for what I did!" He looked at her, his eyes pleading for forgiveness, but her angered expression was still unchanged. "I'll do anything you want!"

She lifted her leg up above his head, and smashed it down on the ground. "Anything I want, huh? Then bring Simon back! Can you do that!?" She yelled as she continued pressing his head against the hard surface.

Jellal didn't have to answer that. "I'm sorry." He barely managed to utter, his head still face-down on the ground.

"KAGURA-CHAN" She heard a female voice call out to her, and released her hold on Archenemy. _"Not yet."_

"_Someone was with her?" _He wondered. The voice sounded familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place it.

"Finally I managed to catch up to you." Millianna said as she looked down and gasped. "Jellal!" She yelled out, wide-eyed.

"You managed to defeat him already?" She asked Kagura, shocked that she managed to defeat someone as powerful as Jellal so quickly.

"Stand up." The vengeful mage said as she removed her leg from his face and he did what she told him, still not being able to stand up properly from his wound.

The cat-like girl took a step back, she wasn't sure why her friend was allowing the criminal to stand, but she trusted her.

His eyes widened at the sight of the girl next to her. _"Millianna." _The tattooed man gaped at her as flashbacks of their childhood started running through his mind.

She noticed Jellal staring at her and took another step back, feeling intimidated by him. He didn't look like he was about to attack her though, he just looked surprised to see her, but she could also notice the hint of sadness in his expression as well.

Suddenly, Kagura punched him in the head with her full force, knocking him unconscious.

"Tie him up." She told Millianna as she flanged her Nekosoku Tube at the unconscious mage, preventing him from using magic.

"Millianna, plan B." She turned her look at the girl beside her. "Bring me Erza Scarlet."

* * *

**In case anyone's confused, Quatro Puppy changed their name back to Quatro Cerberus, since Elfman said that they would be Quatro Puppy only during the tournament. **

**Hope you guys liked how I made the confrontation between Jellal and Kagura go. As always feel free to tell me if you think any of the characters are acting OOC. **


	4. Capture

**Okay so... I have no excuse as to why it took me so long this time BUT this one's the longest chapter yet so I hope that makes up for it? (SORRY T.T)**

**Anyway, to avoid confusion - _italics _is thoughts, flashbacks, and talking telepathically. **

**AddictedToFT - You're right about one thing, but don't worry about Erza hooking up with Bacchus - that ain't happening. xD**

**Guest - I know what you mean, I also think that Jellal is stronger then Kagura. However, Kagura is influenced by hate, while Jellal has no will to fight. When he found out that she's actually Simon's sister, he surrendered to her completely. Sorry if I didn't make that clear. **

**Usifjsif - I'M SO SORRY HERE I'LL UPDATE RIGHT AWAY ASKLDGJASG**

* * *

**Capture**

"Another one!" Erza yelled to the bartender when she emptied her shortly before refilled glass in a matter of seconds, slamming it on the table.

The said man hastily poured down the hard liquor in her glass, not wanting to make the angry Titania wait. He was bald, he had dark skin and brown eyes, and he seemed to be in his early thirties.

"Woah calm down Erza, if you keep this up, you'll be out cold in no time!" Bacchus slurred.

"I know you're depressed because of Fairy Tail's complete defeat at the Grand Magic Games, but slow down a little!" The drunk falcon added as his laugh echoed through the empty bar they were in. Since it was really early in the morning, Erza, Bacchus and the bartender were the only ones there.

The annoyed redhead shot him a death glare, the person next to her pissed her off to no end, and the alcohol was only adding in to her anger. Luckily for him, she still had some of her sanity left in her, so she restrained herself from starting a battle in the middle of the tavern.

"Bacchus." Erza said in a threatening tone, after which the man stopped his laughter. "Fairy Tail won and Quatro Cerberus was the guild that suffered complete defeat!" She snapped, slamming her fist on the table.

"Oh reaaaaally?" He looked at her with his idiotic smirk on his face. "Then why am I the one celebrating and you're the one drowning your sorrows?"

"Because you're an idiot." Scarlet said matter-of-factly. "And I…" She trailed off for a moment, her tone and expression softening as she recalled her goodbye with Jellal.

"It's none of your business." The Fairy Tail Mage said coldly, bringing back her angry attitude as she continued her course of drinking. She was tired of the guy's pestering.

"Ooooooooooooh, I see what it is." Bacchus said as if he figured everything out. "Guy problems!"

Erza shot him another death glare, but didn't stop drinking.

The Quatro Cerberus mage let out a loud, hysterical laugh. "I never knew that the great Titania had those kinds of problems!" He teased her.

"If you want, I'll be your rebound guy, I won't mind!" He smirked, putting his elbow on the table and leaning his face on his hand, waiting for her response.

"No." She said firmly, slamming down her glass once again which the bald man immediately refilled.

"Ah come on!" He insisted, but sighed in defeat when the woman returned to her drink, ignoring him completely. Noticing this, he too turned his focus on his drink, much to Erza's delight.

"_I should've just come on my own." _She thought, regretting her decision to ask her longtime rival to join him for a drink.

If it wasn't Jellal, she didn't need nor want another man, she was doing just fine on her own. Not only did she not want to, but with everything they've been through together, she simply couldn't give her heart to anyone else.

Erza sighed, realizing that Bacchus was right about one thing. Her guild won the tournament, she should be celebrating with her nakama. Instead she was here, drinking with a man she didn't care for much so early in then morning.

The armor-clad girl then decided, she would drown her sorrows a bit more here with Bacchus, and then go back to her friends being her cheerful self. She was determined not to ruin the great mood Fairy Tail's victory created for them.

* * *

"My soul is always wild…" Bacchus said, waiting for Erza to finish the sentence.

The Requip Mage laid face-down on the table, not reacting at all at his words.

Unfortunately, 'a bit more' turned into a lot more, and now Erza was so drunk she was barely conscious.

"My soul is always wild…" He repeated, raising his tone.

"Four." Erza barely managed to utter.

"How disappointing, I expected more from you, Erza!" He exclaimed as he ran out of the bar laughing frantically, leaving the half-conscious girl wasted on the table.

Outside the tavern, Millianna and one of her Mermaid Heel guildmates subtly hid behind its walls and watched Bacchus leave.

"Looks like Erza's alone now." Her friend spoke, her index and middle fingers on her temples.

The cat girl nodded and they entered the bar.

Her comrade, Melissa, was a 17-year old girl of average height. She had long orange hair and brown eyes. She was clad in a short green top, revealing her stomach with her Mermaid Heel insignia on her right waist, a short green skirt and white boots.

Her ability was sensory magic, a power which could enable her to track other people by their type of magic. Kagura had planed to use her to help with finding Jellal in the past, but that was no longer needed since she found him herself. Since Millianna didn't know where Erza was at the moment, she decided to ask the Sensory Mage for help.

Erza heard the sound of a door opening and closing, but couldn't bring up the strength to even lift her head up and see who it is. She didn't even care, thinking it was nobody she knew.

Millianna made her way towards her, but stop for a moment to examine the wasted girl.

* * *

"_Kagura, why do you need Er-chan?" Millianna had asked her comrade after she heard her request. _

"_You said that Erza suffered a lot because of Jellal, I just want to remind her of that."_

"_Right! We can make her realize that forgiving him was a bad decision, and convince her to come to our side!" She said optimistically._

_There was a brief silence before Kagura responded. "Exactly."_

"_But how do I capture her? She's way stronger then I am." _

"_After you tie her up with your Nekosoku Tube, she will no longer be able to use magic. She trusts you, so you just have to take her by surprise."_

_Millianna wasn't fond of the idea of taking advantage of her friend's trust only to capture her, but she felt as if Erza was the one who betrayed her first. The former had told her about her wish to take vengeance against Jellal, while the latter said nothing knowing that the said man was in her guild all along. _

"_Okay." She responded, accepting Kagura's idea._

* * *

The Mermaid Heel Mage decided to do as the swordswoman had told her back then. But looking at Erza's miserable state, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her childhood friend. She thought that maybe capturing her wasn't necessary, that maybe she could just ask her to come and talk to them and they could work things out.

Even in her half-conscious state, the fairy's thoughts once again wondered off to a certain blue-haired mage. "Jellal…"

It was merely a faint whisper, but it was enough for Millianna to hear her. Hearing Erza whisper the criminal's name with such desperation highly angered the brunette, and she lost any pity she had felt for her a moment ago.

"Nekosoku Tube!" She yelled out, flanging the robe as it wrapped around her waist. The drunken mage fell on the ground with a thud and hit her head, which was more then enough for her to lose her consciousness completely.

The bartender looked at them accusingly, but before he could say or do anything, Melissa knocked him unconscious. She looked at Millianna who nodded to her and they hastily left the tavern.

* * *

It was pouring rain. A girl was pressed against a boulder, her hands extended upwards. She was tied up with an orange rope from head to toe. Her clothes were drenched, sticking uncomfortably to her skin. Her white shirt was ripped, revealing the scratches on her skin, and matted with dark red. A sword pierced through her skin, creating yet another wound on the right side of her abdomen. The girl opened her mouth, letting out an agonizing scream, revealing her face covered in black and blue bruises. "_Erza?"_

"ERZA!" Carla shouted out and instantly rose into a sitting position, waking up Wendy who was sleeping next to her.

"Carla?" The young girl looked at her cat companion questionably, rubbing her eyes.

The Exceed got up and looked over at Erza's bed, hoping she could warn her of the bad premonition she had, only to discover that she wasn't there.

"Where is Erza?!" She asked in a panicked tone.

"Why? Carla, did you see something?" The Sky Dragon Slayer asked worriedly.

"Yeah, wake everyone up! We need to find Erza!" Carla demanded.

Lucy already woke up from hearing the two former Cait Shelter Mages' conversation. She then helped wake up their male comrades. Wendy and Carla woke Gray up, shaking him a couple of times after which he lifted himself up in a sitting position and stretched out his hands. Lucy, on the other hand, had to resort to pulling Natsu out of the bed and he fell face-down on the floor with Happy right beside him. The pinkette absolutely refused to wake up in peace, having been tired from celebrating Fairy Tail's victory the day before.

"What's all the fuss about?" He whined, lifting his head up as Happy rubbed his eyes.

They all listened as Carla explained the vision she saw. Her guildmates expressions all turned into shocked ones and they exchanged worried glances at each other.

"Who would torture Erza?! And why?!" Lucy spoke up first, her tone and expression filled with worry.

"Maybe it's those bastards from Raven Tail!" Gray fumed, feeling rage flowing through him at the thought of someone hurting his precious nakama.

"Or Sabertooth!" Natsu clenched his fist, sharing the same feelings of anger and protectiveness as the Ice Mage.

"Did you see where Erza-san was?" The blunette asked, trying to keep calm.

"It was really vague. All that I saw was that she was tied up against a boulder and it was raining. That's it." The startled cat responded.

"Let's inform the others and look for her!" Lucy suggested. "Natsu, you and Wendy take Happy and Carla and look for her from above. Gray, you ask around the town if anyone saw her, and I'll inform everyone." She added.

Everyone nodded and did what the Stellar Mage had told them.

* * *

Lucy was with the rest of Fairy Tail that didn't take part in the competition in their separate hotel. When she informed them of the news, she got the same reaction of shock and worry from everyone as she had. After that she was overwhelmed with additional questions about what exactly Carla saw. She had told them that she doesn't know much herself, as the white-furred cat's vision was apparently really vague. Master Makarov wasn't there though, since he, along with the other guild masters, attended a meeting concerning the Grand Magic Games and its outcome.

"Warren, can you contact Erza?" Lucy asked the Telepathy Mage.

The said man put his index fingers on his temples. "No. She's either too far away for me to reach her, or unconscious." He said after a few moments.

When everyone was done asking questions, Lucy noted that a certain Card Mage was missing.

"Where's Cana?" The blonde asked, looking left and right for her guildmate.

"She probably went out for a drink." Macao said.

"Contact the B Team and Cana and tell them about what happened, and contact the A Team to see if they found anything." She said, turning to Warren.

"Understood." He said and did as she told him, connecting everyone from Fairy Tail into one big liaison.

"_What? Erza's missing?" _Mirajane said in a panicked tone._ "She came here looking for Jellal a couple of hours ago." _She shot a questionable look at Gajeel, who was together with her as well as the rest of the B Team.

"_Don't ask me. I just found him for her and left." _The Iron Dragon Slayer said.

"_Oi… you don't think that Jellal…" _Gray trailed off.

"_OF COURSE NOT YOU ICE PRICK, JELLAL IS OUR NAKAMA NOW, HE WOULDN'T HURT ERZA!" _Natsu snapped at him.

"_You didn't let me finish, flame brain." _Gray retorted, a vein popping out on his forehead from his rival's stupidity. _"I was just going to say that maybe he's with her."_

"_So have you guys found anything?" _Warren asked.

"_Nothing, every time I ask someone if they saw Erza, they just shake their heads in response." _Gray said.

"_Nothing here either." _ The two Dragon Slayers informed.

"_Well, I'm not sure if this has anything to do with Erza, but there's an unconscious bartender in the tavern I'm in." _Cana said.

"_He's probably just wasted." _

"_He's wounded, so I think he was attacked." _ Alberona stated.

"_Wendy, heal the man and ask him what happened." _Lucy commanded.

"_Right." _ The 12-year-old nodded.

"_Everyone else, go look for Erza! Warren will stay here, so if anyone finds anything, come back here and contact everyone through him!" _

"_Understood." _ Everyone agreed simultaneously.

* * *

Carla flew Wendy in the bar Cana was in and placed her behind the counter, where the brunette was shaking the bartender in an attempt to wake him up.

"Leave it to me, Cana-san." Wendy said, placing her hands over the unconscious man as an azure blue light started glowing beneath them.

The shop owner's eye twitched as he slowly started to open them, the healing magic taking affect. He hastily lifted himself up, his eyes wondering between the Fairy Tail mages questionably.

"What happened?" Cana asked him.

The slightly confused man scratched his head, trying to remember the events that had happened before he passed out.

"The last thing I remember is… two female mages came to the bar and tied up one of my customers, and then one of them attacked me and I passed out." He spoke.

Cana, Wendy and Carla exchanged glances.

"Was your customer, by any chance, a girl with red hair?" Cana continued to question him.

"Actually, yes." He replied, much to the girls' shock.

"So those are the people who captured Erza-san!" Wendy gulped. "They must be really strong if she couldn't handle them…"

"Well, not necessarily. The girl was so drunk she couldn't lift a finger." The dark skinned man stated.

Cana and Wendy looked at each other worriedly, both wondering why Erza was drinking so much early in the morning.

"Do you remember what the attackers looked like?" The younger girl asked.

He put his hand on his chin. "One of them had a cat-like appearance and messy brown hair, and the other one had long orange hair with a mermaid heel insignia on her waist."

"Mermaid Heel?!" Cana's eyes widened. "What could they possibly want with Erza?" She wondered.

"Was the girl that got captured with someone?" Carla asked him.

"She was with a tall man with black hair, but he left before the capture." He said.

"Black hair? So she wasn't with Jellal..." Wendy said, wondering who the black haired man was.

"Tall man with black hair?" Cana mumbled as Bacchus instantly came to her mind. "Anyway, let's report back to Warren." She added as the two other females nodded to her.

* * *

Gray was running through the city, asking every single person he ran into on the way if they have seen Erza. Unfortunately, it seemed that there was no sign of her since yesterday.

"Excuse me, have you seen Erza? You know, the Fairy Tail mage, she was in the Grand Magic Games…" The man he asked shook his head.

"Sorry, have you seen Erza?" Another shook.

"Have you seen…"

"Looking for me, Gray?" The black haired mage hastily turned around, hearing a familiar voice coming from behind him.

"Erza!" He exclaimed. "Thank God you're alright, where have you been?"

As the woman Gray questioned began to walk away, assuming he had found the person he was looking for, the redhead hastily whispered to him. "I don't know what exactly is going on, but Jellal's missing too. Take me to the rest of Fairy Tail."

"_Jellal's missing __**too**__." _Gray repeated her words in his head. "Ultear." He realized.

She nodded. "I'll tell you everything I know on the way."

Gray nodded back to her, and ran towards the direction of the inn Warren was at, with her quickly following behind him. "So what happened?"

* * *

"_GAHH! WHERE IS THAT JELLAL?!" Ultear snapped, annoyed at her very late nakama._

"_Maybe I shouldn't have told him to take his time…" Meredy giggled and shot an apologetic smile at her mother figure._

"_Seriosuly… We're going this slowly so that he could catch up to us fast and he's still taking this much? I wonder if he even departed, or is he STILL saying goodbye to Erza?!" Ultear groaned, taking out her orb. "That's it! I'll just check where he is…"_

"_Wait! Ur, don't you think that would be invading Jellal's privacy?" The pinkette remarked. _

"_Well he should've hurried up a little if he didn't want me invading his privacy." She chuckled evilly. _

"_But what if they're…" _

"_Don't care." The older woman cut her off as images in her orb started to appear._

_Ultear and Meredy froze, taking in the image of a completely unmasked Jellal, unconscious and tied up on a boat. _

"_Wha- What is this supposed to mean?" The Sense Mage stammered, her eyes widening. _

"_Jellal…" The Time Mage whispered, worry quickly replacing her anger towards her comrade. "He wasn't captured by the council, was he?!" _

"_I don't think the council would capture Jellal, but execute him right on the spot. I think they wouldn't take any more chances with him…" Meredy stated._

"_Yeah, your right." Ultear nodded. "I should check if Erza's with him too."_

_The orb changed the image of Jellal to an image of Erza. They were surprised to see that the Fairy Tail Mage wasn't with Jellal, but was also tied up and unconscious as someone carried her on their back. _

"_We should inform Fairy Tail of this!" Meredy suggested._

"_Yeah!" Ultear agreed as they changed their course and started heading back to Crocus._

* * *

"So they're not being taken to the same place?" Gray asked as they arrived at their destination.

She shook her head. "It doesn't look like it."

They've got in the apartment and saw that Cana, Wendy and Carla were already there along with Warren.

The four, except for Wendy because of her Dragon Slayer sense of smell, gasped when they saw "Erza" with Gray so the male quickly explained. "It's Ultear."

"It's dangerous for me to walk around in Crocus, so I had to transform into Erza." She stated.

"What did you guys find?" Gray asked the three.

"The bartender informed me that Erza was at his tavern, and that some Mermaid Heel mages captured her while she was wasted." Cana informed them.

"Was Jellal with her?" Ultear asked.

The trio shook their heads.

"So they probably are being taken to the same place, they just weren't captured at the same time." Ultear assumed.

"Do you know where they're being taken, Ultear-san?" Wendy asked her.

She shook her head. "It's probably on an Island though, since I saw Jellal on a boat in my orb. He was tied up and…"

"_Wait a sec." _Gray thought as he put his index finger on his chin. _"Mermaid Heel… isn't Millianna a part of Mermaid Heel? Erza… Jellal… Island…" _His eyes widened as he started to tie all the strings together.

"Warren!" Gray called out, cutting Ultear off as she explained to the others what exactly she saw in her orb. "Tell everyone else to gather back here! I know where Erza is being taken!" He said confidently.

* * *

**My first OC! C: I didn't really pay much thought into her name and appearance though, since she won't do much. (I guess the bartender is kind of an OC too, but I didn't even give him a name so he doesn't count.)  
**

**So can you guess where Erza and Jellal are being taken?**


	5. Tower of Heaven

**Omfg, Fairy Tail won the Grand Magic Games! I didn't expect them to actually win because it's not really an "impossible outcome", but I'm glad they did. Though I'm sure Mashima did it so that we can be all happy about Fairy Tail winning, just so he could crush our hearts when July 7th arrives. /sigh**

**Okay enough of my rant... Thank you for all of your reviews, favs and alerts. Most of you guessed right about where Jellal and Erza are being taken, and yeah, the title says it all. xD**

* * *

**Tower of Heaven**

"YOU'RE CRAZY, FROSTY!" Natsu abruptly reacted to Gray's theory about what happened to Erza. "WHY WOULD MILLIANNA CAPTURE ERZA?"

As the Ice Mage had requested, the whole guild gathered back to the apartment to hear him out. However, most of them didn't fully understand what he was talking about. Natsu, Lucy, Happy and Juvia were exceptions, and they were standing in front of everyone else, facing Gray, Cana, Wendy, Carla and Ultear (who was still disguised as Erza).

"It was just an assumption at first." Gray stated. "But the bartender told Cana that Erza was captured by a girl with a 'cat-like appearance'."

Cana nodded. "Yeah, I didn't pay much attention to that fact at first, until Gray told me that the girl from Mermaid Heel was Erza's friend."

"I always knew she was crazy!" Happy said, still a bit cheeped out by the girl's cat obsession.

"But why would Millianna capture Erza-san if they're friends?" Juvia asked, putting a finger on her chin.

"She's probably angry at her for forgiving Jellal, because of the things he did in the past." Ultear said. She was also somewhat familiar with the former slave, having seen all the happenings at the tower.

"But she wouldn't go so far as to _torture_ her, would she?!" Lucy asked, bewildered.

"Perhaps, she isn't the one torturing Erza." Carla stated, after which everyone looked at her questionably. "I saw someone torturing her with a sword, and from what I've seen, that Millianna girl doesn't use one."

"But Kagura does." Gray said, suddenly remembering the other Mermaid Heel Mage.

"Kagura..." Natsu scratched his head, trying to remember who the girl was. "She fought against Yukino, right?" He turned to Lucy, who nodded in response.

"But why would Kagura torture Erza?" Lucy wondered, thinking the two don't even know each other, which was essentially correct.

The Fairy Tail mages exchanged glances at each other and, seeing as nobody knew the answer to that question, Gray decided to break the silence. "Well no use hanging around here trying to think of an answer. Let's go save her!"

* * *

Jellal slowly started regaining his consciousness. He opened his eyes and discovered that he was in a ravaged building of some sort.

"_Where am I?"_ The Crime Sorciere Mage wondered.

He attempted to move, but felt his body tied up from head to toe and pressed against a boulder.

"_Millianna's nekosoku tube." _He recognized the girl's magic rope.

The fugitive looked around to inspect his surroundings. The ground was covered with rocks and boulders all over the place. It seemed like nobody set foot in the place for years. The area was wide and surrounded by walls but the roof was completely destroyed, revealing the cloudy sky.

Jellal assumed that they were far away from Crocus, since the gloomy weather here was completely different from the sunny capital. There was something awfully familiar about the place, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was.

He attempted to move again, this time putting more force into it, but to no avail.

"Don't even bother." He heard Kagura say from behind, and heard her coming towards him. "Millianna's nekosoku tube is invincible, you can't escape." She said as she stepped beside the tied up man and glared at him.

"Why did you bring me here?" He asked.

"You'll see soon enough." She replied coldly.

* * *

The boat suddenly stopped, bringing Millianna, Melissa and an unconscious Erza to their destination. Millianna looked at her childhood friend and saw a painful expression on her face.

"_Even unconscious, she can still feel the dark aura emitting from this place."_ Millianna thought, also feeling uneasiness for coming back to _that place_ again.

The brunette turned to Erza and lifted her up on her back. "Let's go." She told Melissa and carried the armour-clad girl through the sandy, deserted island. On the way there, she saw Beth at the entrance of the destroyed building, seemingly waiting for them.

"Millianna! Melissa! You're here!" The girl exclaimed cheerfully. "Kagura's waiting for you at the highest location of the building." She informed them.

"Beth? What are you doing here?" Millianna asked.

"The whole guild is here." The petite girl informed them. "Yui is setting up runes, and everyone else is on a look out throughout the island, making sure that nobody interferes."

The cat-girl nodded, and proceeded to carry Erza through the stairs.

"_Why did Kagura get the whole guild involved in this? Why doesn't she just kill Jellal? She wanted to do so in such a long time... Why is Erza being here so important to her?" _A million questions raced through her mind, and she couldn't find an answer to any of them.

She stopped for a moment, trying to keep her thoughts in check. _"Was defeating Jellal really that easy? The battle ended before I even showed up. Jellal is really powerful..."_

"Millianna? Is everything okay?" Melissa asked her, noticing her sudden stop of movement. "Are you tired? Do you want me to carry her for a while?"

"Just... thinking about something." She replied, forcing a smile. "It's fine. We're almost there anyway."

* * *

Jellal's eyes widened as Millianna approached them, carrying an unconscious redhead on her back.

"_Erza?" _He thought, hoping that his eyes were playing tricks on him. The brunette, along with her comrade, tied up the girl against a boulder directly facing his.

The tattooed man frowned, realizing that the girl was no other then Erza. _"Damn it!" _He cursed. After they bid farewell to each other, he had thought that they wouldn't see each other in years, let alone a couple of hours. That should've been the case, Erza should've been free of him, he shouldn't make her suffer any longer.

"Why... why is Erza here?" He asked, bewildered. What could they possibly want with Erza? Were they planning on killing him in front of her? That was the last thing Jellal wanted.

If Kagura decides to kill him after all his pleads not to do it, then he had no choice but to surrender his life to her. He wanted to live for Erza's sake, but Kagura was Simon's sister, he owed too much to the man to hurt his sibling. But even if she ended up killing him, he hoped that Erza wouldn't find out about his death so soon, let alone watch him get killed.

"We're going to listen to her side of the story and hear what lies you fed her in order to make her forgive you." Millianna spat out bitterly.

Jellal felt slight relief in hearing that. It looked like they were willing to talk. Maybe Erza could even convince them to spare his life – after all, Erza and Millianna were friends.

"Millianna." Kagura called out to her guildmate, bringing the attention to herself. "You said that you, Erza, Jellal and Simon, along with a few others, were all part of a friendship group in the past, right?" Millianna nodded in response.

"Well, don't you think that it's only fair if you bring those others here, too?" The swordswoman suggested.

"But they could be anywhere right now!" Millianna protested. "Who knows how long it would take us to bring them here!"

"Well, wherever they are, Melissa can find them quickly." Kagura noted. "I waited for so long to get revenge on Jellal, I can take a couple of more hours."

"_Shit!" _ Jellal thought, realizing what Kagura was trying to accomplish. _"She's trying to get rid of her." _

"But what if Fairy Tail comes to look for Erza?" Millianna asked. "They probably noticed that she's gone by now..."

"They don't know where she is. And even if they did, I told Yui to set up some runs, so they won't be able to pass." Kagura replied and folded her arms in annoyance, tired of her friend's protests.

"Okay Kagura-chan, if you say so." She said, noticing that Kagura was getting impatient. Millianna knew how much all this meant to Kagura, so she decided not to question her any further and just do as she told her. She turned around, tapping Melissa on the shoulder, signalizing her to get moving.

"_Ultear!" _Jellal called out to her teammate telepathically. _"Ultear, can you hear me?"_

"_Jellal!" _Ultear exclaimed. _"Where are you?" _

"_I don't know." _He replied. _"I got knocked out, so I don't know where they took me."_

"_Jellal, do you think that the place you are is... the tower?"_ Ultear asked, earning a shocked gasp from her guildmate.

"_That... that's right!" _ He told her, looking aroundonce again. It was impossible to determine which part it was exactly, but there was no mistaking it – He was at the Tower of Heaven.

"_And, you're captured by a girl named Kagura right?" _She asked, wanting to confirm Gray's theory.

"_Yes, how did you know?"_

"_Gray figured it out."_ She replied. _"Hang on Jellal, I'm coming with Meredy and several Fairy Tail members!"_

"_Please hurry. They've taken Erza as well." _He begged her.

At first Jellal didn't want to get anyone involved in this. This was his problem and he would solve it on his own, in whatever way he could. However, capturing Erza was going too far. She didn't do anything wrong.

"_I know. We'll get there as fast as we can!" _She reassured him and broke off their connection, assuming they have nothing else to discuss.

Jellal felt a drop of water fall on his shoulder. He looked down, and noticed several dark spots on the ground, with more and more appearing every second. It started raining lightly, which wasn't a surprise considering the gloomy weather.

"This armour of hers is so troublesome." Kagura suddenly said and slashed her sword towards Erza. Without injuring her or cutting off Millianna's ropes, she managed to break off her armour, revealing her white shirt underneath.

Jellal gasped at Kagura's sudden violent behaviour._ "I knew it..." _He gulped. _"She's acting differently towards Erza now that Millianna's gone."_

"What's wrong?" She asked him, noticing the distressed look on the criminal's face. "Do you care about this woman?"

"_She wants to torture Erza because of me..." _Jellal realized.

"No." He replied as coldly as he could. "I just used her to get close to Fairy Tail, I don't care about her." He lied, hoping that she would leave Erza alone then. If he didn't care about her, then the Mermaid Heel Mage had no reason to hurt her, right?

"Oh?" Kagura said, not buying anything he said. "Let's test that statement out, shall we?"

She turned to Erza... and stabbed her in the gut.

Titania let out an agonizing scream as Kagura withdrew her sword. A large wound appeared on Erza's left abdomen, staining her shirt with red around it. She coughed up blood as all the colour disappeared from Jellal's sopping face.

Kagura turned to the distraught man. "You sure about that?" She said as she trailed her sword over her chest, cutting her shirt and leaving a trail of blood as she did so.

"STOP IT!" Jellal screamed. "Erza hasn't done anything wrong. If you want to torture someone – torture me!"

"She has." Kagura stated, pointing Archenemy at him. "She was hiding you from me. She was hiding you from Millianna."

"Erza didn't know anything."

"She did. Millianna told her."

"She did?" Jellal asked, surprised. _"Why hasn't she told me?"_ He frowned, feeling hurt that she didn't trust him enough to tell him about it.

Kagura nodded and turned back to Erza, preparing to strike her again.

"Stop! I'm the one you want! Leave Erza out of this!" He cried out.

The swordswoman didn't listen to him and just started assaulting Erza, punching her in the face, stomach, ribs, and all of her weak spots.

"Why isn't she waking up?!" Kagura became irritated at Erza's senseless state.

"She smells like alcohol... has she been drinking?" The brunette wondered, continuously beating her. "Because of someone like you... how pathetic."

"Why... why are you torturing Erza... because of something _I_ did?" Jellal trembled. He was angry. Not at Kagura, but at himself. How could he let something like that happen to Erza? How could he get her involved in all of this? Why wasn't he careful not to let his identity get exposed? All he wanted was for Erza to be happy, but he was constantly bringing sadness and danger to her.

Every time Kagura would hurt Erza, he felt as if she was piercing a blade through _his_ heart over and over instead. Tears formed in the corner of his eyes, threatening to come out. The weather seemed to reflect his negative emotions as it was considerably growing stronger, soaking all three of them, but neither payed attention to it.

"This is more appropriate then torturing you." She said, stopping for a moment. "You took something important to me, so now I'm doing the same thing to you."

Jellal froze at her words. She wasn't really planning on _killing_ Erza, was she?

"I was surprised, really." Kagura continued. "I didn't realize a murderer like you had feelings. I'm glad you do. Just killing you wouldn't be enough to please me."

"Kagura, don't do this." He pleaded. "Hurting Erza won't please you either."

"We'll see about that."

"Millianna wouldn't want you to do this."

"She'll just have to deal with it."

"Simon wouldn't want you to do this."

"Not like he'll ever know. Thanks to you." She said, her voice breaking for a moment.

It was pouring rain by now. Their clothes were drenched and sticking uncomfortably to their skin. Kagura lashed out at Erza with her sword again, making more cuts and wounds on her. All that could be heard after that was the heavy rain, Erza's screams and Jellal's cries of protest.

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**In case anyone's wondering, Yui isn't an actual member of Mermaid Heel, just a character I made up. The only thing you need to know about her is that she can set up runs like Freed.  
**

**Anyway, there's just a few more chapters left. I don't want to rush the ending, so don't expect a fast update. *hides under a rock* B-but I'll try my best to update fast! ^.^'**


	6. Rescue

**Late, I know. But hey, I warned you. xD The good news is, spring break is in 2 weeks, so hopefully I'll have more time to write then.**

**StarCaptain - Maybe she'll find out...?**

**ahsinam33 - I was worried that I'm going a bit overboard with Kagura's personality, but then again, she _did_ try to kill Erza in the GMG just because she was sheltering Jellal. I just assumed she would've been even more furious if she saw Erza kissing him.**

**As always thanks for the reviews, favs and alerts. c:  
**

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**Rescue**

Team Natsu, along with Ultear and Meredy, were making their way over to the Tower of Heaven, camouflaged in Juvia's water dome. After they had left Crocus, they met up with Meredy who was waiting for them at an arranged spot. Ultear, who was disguised as Erza up until then, turned back to her usual appearance.

The Water Mage, noticing that the water was now shallow enough for them to walk, released her magic with a swift motion of her hand. Natsu, being his usual reckless self, was the first one that charged towards the direction of the tower yelling with rage. Everyone followed up behind him, but to their surprise, the Dragon Slayer suddenly stopped, looking like he slammed into an invisible wall of some sort.

"WHA- WHY CAN'T I GO THROUGH?" Natsu shouted, aggressively slamming his fists into the barrier.

"Looks like they set up runes." Ultear stated, recognizing the familiar magic.

"Damn it! How do we save Erza then?" Gray asked.

"Juvia remembers that there was an underwater entrance from the previous time we were at the tower." The blunette said, raising her hand shyly.

"That's right!" The Ice Mage said, remembering the passage as well. "Quick thinking, Juvia!" He added, offering her a proud smile.

Juvia's heart skipped a beat at seeing her beloved Gray-sama giving her such a kind smile and she blushed fiercely as he praised her.

"I WAS PRAISED! NOT YOU, BUT JUVIA!" The former Phantom Lord Mage hovered evilly over Lucy, her apparent "love rival".

"Yeah, yeah." The blond said indifferently, brushing her off.

The nine of them swam underwater with Juvia's water bubbles around their heads, allowing them to breathe until they got to their destination. They arrived at a sandy shore of some sort, that was completely surrounded by boulders and didn't have a hint of sunlight in it. Natsu produced a flame in his hand which enabled him to see where he was going, and Lucy summoned Loke who used Regulus' light to bright up the place as much as he could for the others.

The Fairy Tail mages remembered this place as the same one where they fought off some of Zeref's followers 7 years ago. They, with an exception of Natsu who was always up for a fight, were relieved that Kagura didn't set up any guards in the passage, but they assumed that she didn't do so simply because she didn't know about it.

The group tried to find their way through all the rocks that were scattered everywhere and get to higher grounds. Gray saw a passage in one of the boulders and recognized it as the one Jellal opened up a path for them through last time. The black-haired mage had then used Ice Make: Stairs to make his own passage and gone through there, motioning to the rest to follow him. And with that, the rescue team entered the tower.

When they got there, Virgo suddenly popped up and offered everyone dry clothes from the stellar spirit world. The girls changed into different clothes, while Natsu and Gray simply dried their clothes with the Fire Mage's flames.

"We're here, Jellal. Where are you?" Ultear asked her comrade telepathically when they arrived. She waited a few minutes but there was no response.

"Jellal?" She asked again. No response.

"JELLAL?!" The Time Mage yelled, getting seriously worried. _"Why isn't he answering?"_

"Ultear." Jellal replied suddenly, as if he just heard her. She could hear with just that one word - something was wrong with him. He sounded broken, remorseful. What the hell happened to him?

"Jellal, where are you?"

"I'm at the top of the tower." He murmured, with the same weak tone as before.

"We're coming Jellal, so hang on okay?" She said and broke off the connection.

A light 'tap tap tap' of the rescue team's feet was heard as they ran through the tower's hallways, trying to find a way to get higher. They stopped briefly before every corner to see if the coast was clear and then continued on.

The Fairy Tail mages, with the exception of Wendy who wasn't a member of the guild back then, were reminded of the last time they were at the tower. They came to the same place with the same objective – to save Erza.

However this time, the tower wasn't some fancy building. The place was dark and completely wrecked. It was covered in dust with pieces of wood, broken glass and dead insects scattered on the floor. While they were looking at the ground trying not to trip on anything, they failed to avoid all the spider webs that were sticking on the walls from one end to another, but decided to ignore it and the tickling on their skin that it caused.

"I can smell dozens of mages entering the tower from above. We need to hurry!" Natsu warned his comrades, using his heightened sense of smell to make out where their potential enemies were. If they were anywhere near, he would tell the others in order to try and escape them to avoid any pointless battles. The pinkette wouldn't mind getting into a fight, but saving their captured comrades was a priority and they would get there faster without getting into one.

"Shit! They're closing in on us!" He said in a panicked tone.

"Looks like they know we're here." Wendy said, also being able to sense the mages approaching.

"Isn't there any way we can go around them?" Lucy asked.

Gray shook his head in response. "I don't think so. I didn't see any other way."

Natsu clenched his fist which was now covered in flames. "Then we have no choice but to fight." He said, unable to hide his excitement for the battle that would soon take place.

After a few moments, the mages arrived, revealing themselves to be from Mermaid Heel just like the rescue team had anticipated. On the front they recognized some of them from the tournament, like Arania, Risley and Beth.

"I told you they were here. I put my webs all over the place to alert me if someone disrupts them." Arania said.

"_So those spider webs were actually a trap."_ The group of intruders realised.

"But that's impossible! I set up runes everywhere!" A Mermaid Heel mage that didn't take part in the competition said.

"They must've found a way to get inside the tower from beneath. That would explain why they're down here." Risley said.

"Yeah, the whole guild was patrolling the island, surely someone would see the seven of them arrive." Beth agreed.

"Okay listen." Ultear started, motioning for Meredy and the Fairy Tail mages to gather near her. "I'll use my time arc to open up a path on the ceiling, and I'll keep doing that until I reach the top where Jellal and Erza are. Natsu, I need to borrow your cat to fly me through there."

"Oi, what about us?" Gray asked.

"You keep them busy. I'm the one who can get there the fastest." She replied.

The others exchanged glances and nodded, all agreeing that Ultear was right and that it was the best choice they had right now.

"Carla should take Wendy and come with you too, in case we were too late to stop Erza from getting injured." Lucy suggested to which the others agreed.

"I'm sorry, Fairy Tail." Arania started, interrupting their planning and stepping in front of her comrades. "But we cannot let you pass through here. Kagura is not to be disturbed." She added sternly.

"I wasn't planning on it." Ultear smirked.

"Toki no Aku!" The former Grimoire Heart member yelled as the ceiling crumbled, opening up a path to the next floor of the tower.

"Happy!" Natsu called out to his partner, waiting for him to do his part of the plan.

"Aye Sir!" The Exceed exclaimed as he grabbed Ultear from behind and flew her through the hole, Carla and Wendy following right behind them.

"Be careful, Ul!" Meredy shouted out to her mother figure.

"Stop them! Don't let them get away!" The green haired woman yelled out as her guildmates charged towards the intruders. Unfortunately for them, Ultear had already sealed the path shut.

The four flied through the tower with the Crime Sorciere Mage continuously making holes in the ceilings and flying through them. She didn't bother to seal any of them back shut except for the first one, since the tower was already a disaster anyway. As they advanced further, the noise of the battle that happened immediately after she left started fading.

"Geez, how much more is there?" The irritated woman wondered, losing count on how much floors they passed by now.

"Toki no Aku." She yelled once again, crashing the ceiling. This time though, they could see light coming from the hole, and rain falling down through it.

"Looks like we're finally on top." Ultear rejoiced and turned to Wendy and Carla as the young dragon slayer gave her a determined smile.

The satisfied looks on the female's and their cat companion's faces soon disappeared as they heard an agonizing scream coming from above. They gasped in shock, recognizing the familiar voice it came from. They quickly flew through the wall, instantly hit by the cold air and pouring rain as they stared at the sight which unfolded before them.

There stood a brown haired female wizard, who Wendy recognized to be in fact Kagura, with a bloody sheathed sword gripped in her hand. In front of her was none other then Erza, tied up to a stone and unconscious. Her clothes were tattered and her body was covered in wounds and scratches while her face was heavily bruised. The Mermaid Heel Mage heard someone appear and hastily turned to face the newcomers.

Wendy could just stare out in shock from seeing her friend so heavily injured. The redhead was like an older sister to her, she was the one who invited the blunette to join Fairy Tail in the first place and helped her bare the sadness of losing her former guildmates. She knew of Erza's kindness and was confused as to why anyone would want to torture her this way.

"J-just like... in my vision..." Carla stammered, shivering from the sight before her.

"Erza..." Happy uttered sorrowfully, tears threatening to fall from the corners of his eyes.

"So we were too late..." Ultear murmured, feeling regret for not being able to get there faster.

"You're from Fairy Tail..." Kagura spoke, looking at the younger girl. "and... who are you?" She asked, turning her glare at the dark-haired woman.

"I am Ultear Milkovich, a former member of the dark guild Grimoire Heart and current member of the independent guild Crime Sorciere, an ally of Fairy Tail and... Jellal's comrade." She replied, emphasizing the last part to make sure that the girl knows what she came here to do.

The brunette's grip around her sword tightened. "Oh? So you came here to save your friend." She assumed, now recognizing the woman from the cliff where she stood with Jellal and another younger girl when Erza had found him.

"Where is he?" Ultear asked in a threatening tone. She feared about her guildmate's condition, thinking that he could be as injured as Erza or even worse.

"He's right behind you."

At her words, the Time Mage instantly turned around and discovered that Jellal was on a similar bolder as Erza was. What surprised her though was that he didn't seem to be injured at all. However, he was trembling uncontrollably and his face was downcast with water dripping down his face and hair.

"_What's wrong with him?"_ She wondered as she started hastily walking towards him.

"Ultear-san, look out!" The Sky Sorceress called out as Ultear felt herself being grabbed from behind. Before she knew it, she found herself in the air carried by the blue-furred cat with Carla, who was carrying Wendy, quickly following behind them. Kagura swung her sword at where she was previously standing, striking the ground instead and making a hole in it from the impact.

"Thanks Happy." Ultear said, realizing that the exceed had just saved her from what would have been a deadly blow. Happy and Carla lowered the two females on the ground as Ultear glared at her attacker.

She made a quick glance from the corner of her eyes at the hole the brunette created and noted that she must be very powerful to create such damage with an unsheathed sword. _"She's strong. I can't let my guard down."_

"Why did you do this to Erza?" Ultear hissed, demanding answers.

"I did it because of your friend." She replied, motioning towards Jellal. "I want him to suffer before I kill him, and torturing Erza seems to work."

The Time Mage glared at Kagura, she'd think that the girl was insane but she was acting calm and collected. The swordswoman didn't seem to enjoy doing this as there was no cliché evil laugh or smirk sadistic people usually have. Ultear believed that the Mermaid Heel mage had a valid reason for doing all this. She knew of evil, as she was once evil herself, and this girl didn't seem to be that.

She glanced at Jellal from the corner of her eye and now knew why he looked so broken. If Kagura wanted him to suffer, then she couldn't have found a more effective way to do so.

"Look I don't know what exactly Jellal did to make you do all this, but he's literally a completely different person then he was before..." Ultear started, only to be cut off by an enraged Kagura.

"Oh so now he's a good guy? That's too bad for him but after everything he's done it's too late to have a change of heart!" She fumed.

"He didn't change. Rather... he was never evil in the first place."

"What do you mean?" She asked, beginning to shake from fury because of the woman's words. "He manipulated people into building a tower to resurrect the evilest mage in history! If that isn't evil then I don't know what is!"

"But Jellal was manipulated himself." Ultear retorted. "That tower wasn't even meant to revive Zeref. I only used Jellal to get the council's eyes off of Grimoire Heart. He was a victim just as anyone else in the tower was."

Kagura's eyes widened as she tried to process everything the woman before her just revealed. "What the hell are you talking about!?" She snapped.

"I manipulated Jellal by making him believe that I'm Zeref, and used a powerful type of possession magic to corrupt his thoughts." Ultear admitted without hesitation. She was ready to take responsibility for what she did to Jellal, and she wasn't afraid to do so. This was her sin she committed, and it wasn't fair for her comrade to suffer instead of her.

Kagura froze at her words, she could just stare at her as she tried to absorb all the information handed to her.

The tower was built just to attract attention?

This woman manipulated Jellal?

He was just a victim?

Kagura was in inner turmoil. What should she do now? She had spent the last 7 years resenting Jellal, only to discover that it was misdirected? Should she kill this woman instead? What did she torture Erza for, then? And even if it wasn't completely the man's fault, he did kill her brother with his own hands. How could she know if the female mage was telling the truth anyway? Maybe she was only lying to protect her comrade.

Kagura thought about Jellal and how he acted from the moment they had confronted each other. The man had surrendered to her immediately after finding out who she was even though he was a powerful mage, being one of the former ten wizard saints, and could easily be stronger then she was. The swordswoman was well aware of the pain she was causing him by harming Erza, it was obvious just by looking at him.

Was this really the man who did all those things she had heard about? He didn't seem to be someone capable of murder. She trembled even more then before as tears started to gather in the corners of her eyes.

"Release Jellal and Erza at once! If you don't, I have no choice but to attack you." Ultear threatened.

"You have no right to give orders!" Kagura screamed, tears now falling freely from her eyes. She put her hand on the hilt of her sword and started unsheathing it while yelling out in rage.

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**That's it for now. I think there will be like 2-3 more chapters till the end.**

**Anyway, I want to share with you guys some exciting jerza news. :D**

**There will be a jerza week on tumblr from may 26th to june 2nd! It's like a week where people make jerza fanart, gifs, edits, write fanfics and post them on tumblr. For more information go to jerzaweek . tumblr . com, and if you have any questions feel free to ask me. ^.^**


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